I would like to know your thoughts on prisons versus county jails? I did 370 days in the county before getting my time and going to prison. My jail time was 10 times worse than my prison time. We were locked down 23 hours a day, only got out to shower, etc. There were no plug-ins in the cells, so no TV. No mirrors, not even the metal ones. Terrible food. No barber service ( I gotone haircut in a year ). 10 minute phone calls once a week. 15 minute visits once a week (through glass). The jailer went home about 5PM every day, shut & locked a big steel door between the cells & front end of jail, only the dispatcher was there & he wasn't supposed to leave his radio. Cells were about 7ft X 8ft for 2 men. There were also 6 man cells. Lights were so dim you could barely see. They kept it so cold you had to stay under blankets most of the time. We never got outside, no exercise yard. After about 10 months of this, I got a change of venue & went to another county. It wasn't quite as bad there, but no way it was up to standards. Give me prison any day. (If you gotta go !):eek:

rominakins

01-30-2008, 07:03 AM

Homeboy... my son would agree with everything you said 110%!!! Prison is better than county!

tigrldy

01-30-2008, 07:11 AM

I think you will find about everyone agreeing with that. Our county jail is more than two person cells, there was a day room with tv, but they are locked down more, visits are through glass. Prison has much more freedom of movement and there are programs availably that were not available in jail.

ChristianLdy

01-30-2008, 09:08 AM

Yep, I agree with you and the other posters. My husband and I have spoken about the differences many times since he got transferred out of county jail and into DOC. In a weird way, we're both grateful for that county time because it has helped us to see the blessings of what we do have in prison.

dosdawg

01-30-2008, 09:37 PM

well for me anyhow. i was not really able to succumb to the BS in population. I was more suited for solitary most of the time. I had issues with living arrangements in both jail and prison, and would rather spend my time alone if i must be incarcerated. I had issues with the cleanliness of many people, the odors of people, the absolute disrespect of people.

one of the things i found weird, was many in tx prison, become snitches from threats of being placed in solitaire confinement, this really amazed me as the mindset i had was this is jail, rather in this cell or some other cell, it didnt matter to me, just leave me alone and let me do my time.

You have to be able to do the time, you cant let the time do you. I know TDCJ has really weirded out the actual prison system, CO's snitching on CO's, inmates snitching on inmates, inmates snitching on CO's, and all for what, you are still going to do your sentence.

I one had a CO tell me (he had 23 years in the system) he said we were all locked up, only differnce was that he got a 12 hour reprieve from time to time, and a day or two off a month. He was one of the good ones who actually cared though. There are not many of them left, that is for sure.

Later,
DosDawg

DestinysChild

01-31-2008, 02:15 AM

I said give me prison because I didn't see "let me outta here" & thats what I would have chosen had I seen that. But if I had to choose one or the other I would definately choose prison time. I think most would. Jail time is lockdown all the time. You have much more freedom in prison.

Thats why they call jail time "hard time"

laydlyke

01-31-2008, 09:04 AM

Dos, my husband is just like you. He hated county and was put in a single cell out of gen pop. Then when he went to prison, he's in close custody (single-cell). He told me that that's how he preferred to do his time. His own stuff in his own room and most importantly, his own bathroom.

County was worse on him since he was locked down 23 hours a day. Plus the cell there was only about 5x8. He's in gen pop now, but it's different since he doesn't have to share.

fancyone

01-31-2008, 09:37 AM

Home Boy.......another St Louis person here. Welcome Home!!!

My son is in Clayton. Im as shocked by the staff there as my son is.........I could tolerate his incarceration but not the abuse he suffers there. He is waiting for the last many weeks for the Feds to come for him to take him to a camp prison. We know not when or where...........makes me nervous all the time. meanwhile..........he sits down there and I hear the guards acually screaming ,in the background, when he call me. Im sick of it! You were downtown, I bet? I hear thats a true Hell Hole?

But I know ,from your posts and other people's ,that after the camp deal,we will have to get thru half way and then Parole?! Thats hard, right????

Well.............glad you are ok!

T's Girlie

01-31-2008, 12:03 PM

My husband was in DuPage County for 6 months before entering IDOC and going to Statesville. In County, he had freedom i.e.- tv, gym, drug classes, served food trays, got to call whenever he wanted......In Statesville, he was on lock down 24/7 in a cell with an idiot for a celly. All he had was my letters, some magazines and the Bible. He got to use the phone only once a week and sometimes not even that. It took 2 weeks for him to get a letter. He would go days without toilet paper and took a shower once a week. He said being in The Hole in County was like a 5 star hotel compared to Prison. Eventually, after 2 months or so, he transferred to Vienna Correctional Center and that wa way better. Still no tv though. So, I'd have to go with County on this......

silvergirl0007

01-31-2008, 07:39 PM

We prefer prison, county sucked. He got 2 hours of visitation a week with a 5 foot wall in front so we couldn't touch except at the beginning and end. They had unlimited phone access and they had a tv and stuff BUT the food and dirty conditions got to him.

In prison he was getting limited phone calls, more freedom, better food, and 6 hours of visitation/day with full contact. Now he's in shock camp which is in between.

takenmomof3

02-02-2008, 05:29 PM

I chose prison. He can have packages sent to him, books, magazines, better food, more phone calls, and cheaper for us because he can buy phone cards. County was horrible conditions, being on lockdown and where he was at one pod was infested with crabs, another with these sores that some inmates had all over them. He said he was never happier to be transferred!!! We get more time to visit in prison than in county. He has more options.

soinlove2004

02-03-2008, 03:51 PM

My boyfriend has also said that the prison time is much easier to deal with than the count time. He did 9 months in county not knowing that if he would have agreed to the prison time the first time around it would have been much easier on him!!!

dosdawg

02-03-2008, 10:32 PM

i understand that most who are posting on here have no concept of maximum security prisons. TDC had no phone calls, never seen a phone in TDC, i actually heard there was some request where you could put a call in every 90 days, of course you had to suck a** and not be written up. didnt work out for me.

Depending on what farm you were on if there were any contact visits or not. but any visit was only for an hour.

Most of you should be thankful for what you have, as i have been in other countries, and their prisoners get absolutely nothing, jail or prision, and in some countries if the husband is guilty of a crime, they go ahead and convict the wife of the same offense even though she may not have been participating in this illegality.

crazy, i know, but we do have it good in the US

regards,
DosDawg

WaitinPrincess

02-04-2008, 01:55 PM

Jesse hasnt gotten to prison yet but all he does is b%$#% about the county jail. We hear that prisons way better, i guess hell find out this Wedns when he gets transferred!!

Anniko

02-04-2008, 02:01 PM

I just hope prisons r better then county . . .

The Fox

02-04-2008, 08:05 PM

My man said he if he can't be home he rather be in prison. He said he hated county. The food was always cold, he couldn't go outside, or smoke. And for me he sounds in better spirits being in prison then what he was in county

perrys_girl

02-04-2008, 08:06 PM

iam VERY happy to have found this because just today I found out my bf may leaving county work camp to go to a prison and i was wondering how it would be there this has shed some light on everything...

optimistic

02-05-2008, 12:57 AM

My Baby says Prison is 100 times better than the country EXCEPT for the 300 minutes of phone time we get :(

PTO-92958

02-05-2008, 11:51 AM

TDC had no phone calls, never seen a phone in TDC, i actually heard there was some request where you could put a call in every 90 days, of course you had to suck a** and not be written up. didnt work out for me.

Depending on what farm you were on if there were any contact visits or not. but any visit was only for an hour.

Most of you should be thankful for what you have, as i have been in other countries, and their prisoners get absolutely nothing, jail or prision, and in some countries if the husband is guilty of a crime, they go ahead and convict the wife of the same offense even though she may not have been participating in this illegality.

I know how vastly different Texas is from many other states. I am so very grateful for the "ammenities" (for lack of a better term) of New York DOCS.
We are very fortunate here.

andrea_wilson1

02-05-2008, 02:01 PM

everyone i know thats been to both would agree with you

cornered

02-05-2008, 11:04 PM

Sadly the better conditions only promote return inmates.
Don't get me wrong, if I was there you bet I'd want it to be a better place than county.
I'd rather NOT be there at all.

Chadschicken2

02-05-2008, 11:38 PM

County lockup is the hardest time a person will ever do. this is because there are fewer people in county and the co's issue more control over the inmates lives.

PTO-92958

02-06-2008, 03:12 PM

Sadly the better conditions only promote return inmates.

I do not agree.
Recidivism is a posibility to every former inmate based upon their choices and actions. Based upon thier ability to return to and relate to the outside world by bettering themseves and obeying the laws and parole requirements.
It is not based on how "comfy" state was compared to county.

BillieJo

02-06-2008, 04:40 PM

Charlie always said that being in jail was hell, in WI there is rec like every other day, and visits- that was the only time he was out of his block. even when he was in max, he found ways to spend his time creatively.

krainium

02-07-2008, 06:59 PM

I too can say that my husband says if you have to do time, you don't want to do it in county. Locked down all the time and food that's just barley rotten etc, etc. The time seems to slow down in county because there's no movement. Once they get to prison, they take classes get jobs go outside etc. The time moves by quicker. In county I got 1 visit per week for 1 hour. In prison he gets one visit per week for 2-5 hours and one 15 minute call per day.

special_24

02-08-2008, 09:56 PM

What makes sumthings better about prison then jail..just curious about that...

sunmoon728

02-09-2008, 12:18 AM

my man says prison is prison and there is nothing fun about that but he says that prison food is a little better than county. but not too much since it is still system food. and he says that in prison they have yard time. and in prison he gets contact visits, county visits are behind glass.

SaNdiA

02-09-2008, 03:29 AM

i think prisons r better
my hun doesnt complain about prison as much as he did while in county

TEELOKSWIFEY

02-12-2008, 03:57 PM

i think most of us will prefert prison
over county
at least ma man rather
be in prison then in county
he say county is just wasted time
and the officers are rude !!
aw and the whole visit process for county is a b**** !!
i rather make line to get a whole morning visit then make 2 hours line to get 30 minutes visit !! or atleast thats how it is in L.A

emo

02-24-2008, 11:35 AM

Of course I want him out and so does he..

But, he does prefer prison over county.

maniacswifey619

12-04-2013, 01:43 AM

I think most of our men hate both. But if a choice had to be made most if not all would choose prison over county

Wanderer77

05-30-2014, 05:33 AM

Most of you should be thankful for what you have, as i have been in other countries, and their prisoners get absolutely nothing, jail or prision, and in some countries if the husband is guilty of a crime, they go ahead and convict the wife of the same offense even though she may not have been participating in this illegality.

crazy, i know, but we do have it good in the US

regards,
DosDawg

HELL YEAH. I'm in Thailand and was in Dubai for a while. F*** Dubai. I won't go into and most expats won't talk about it - but it's a messed up system. Almost everyone I talked to knew someone who got nailed on a trumped-up charge, spent time in jail with NOTHING and then was deported. Screwed over families and all kinds of stuff.

You had to walk a NARROW line there, and even then wasn't a guarantee. Car accident with an Emiratee? Get into a verbal argument? One Canadian guy got sentenced to a MONTH for insulting an arab. Then deported...

Another Brazilian dude, driving drunk, hit a guy walking and killed him. The guy drives to his hotel, packs his bag and goes to the airport to run. They catch him at the airport - 4 months. Look it up. Yeah, suddenly the US looks a lot better